Earth anchor



H. R. OGBURN EARTH ANCHOR Nov. 27, 195] 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed July\6, 1948 Nov. 27, 1951 H. R. OGBURN 2,576,412

EARTH ANCHOR Filed July e, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 M M22 3/ H 7/ f/ar/ey R. 0 611? in an expanded position)- Patented Nov. 27, 1951 UNITE-n r- Thisinventionrelatesv tonewand useful 'ini provements in earth anchors;

One-objectof the invention is -to provideran improved expansible earth anchor: which may. be positioned wherever-desired in mommaor hole in the earth andeexpanded to provide an extremely. seeure-and=-rigidanchoring means to which guywiresandthelikemay be secured? A;particu1ar obj ectof the invention .isito provideadeviceof the character. described wherein theexpansiblewings'of the anchor -are positively restrained-and 'confi'ned atall timeslwhereby acci dental displacement of oneof lsa-idlwin'gsh the course of settingioperations is p'recliidedi A further obj ectof the 'inventibnis" to? provide an expansible earth anchor? of the nature 'de" scribed wherein the inner en'd's ofthe'expansible wings are positively. and rigidly positioned betweenv the upper and lower blo'ck's'bfthelanchor after the latter has been'expan'ded'in'to' its" set position. I v

Yet another object of the invention" is "to provide an improved earth anchorwhich is extremely simple in structure and economical to 'nianu'fac ture yet whichprovides a ru'ggdand dependable anchoring structure;

Acons'truction' designed to carry outthe inven} ti'on-will be hereinafter described 'together with other features of the invention; v I

The invention will be more: readily understood from 'a readingof'th'e' following specification and by" reference to the accompanying draw ngs, wherein an" example of the invention is shown, and wherein:

Fig. 1" isla side "elevation of ahear'tli anchor constructed in accordance with this' 1 vention,

said anchor being in an'unex'panded position;

Fig: 2' is anenlarged," vertica-lrsecti'onal"View of the "earth 'anchorwith' the-expanded position of the anchoring wingsindicated in dotted lines,

Fig? 3 is 'a'verti'cal; seeti cnal v'iew ofthe" anchor Fi -i is a'hbrizentalfcrdss sectionalview taken upon the line 'e l of Fig r2 an'd' Fig? 5 a-hoiizon-tal', cress sectional 'view takeii receives the-lowerefid of therod l B so' as to secu're er bl'ock theieupon. An integral'sted I 4 projects qaterauy fromea'ch side-of the saidibessesbeing Subttetntlally reetangu lar in shape r andhaving rtheir longer dir'nensi'ens extendinglengthwise of the lateral facesor 'sides of thefollower block .An elongate recess 1! 5 11s cut 'long-itudinally ofeach of 1 the bosses [L the bottoms [6 of the recesses being semicylindrical in outlineyand said recessesterminati-ng sho rt of the-ends-ofthe bosses l4 as il-lustrated inFig-5. A sha'llower notchor: cut out' portion I 1 extends from-the outer wall ofeach of the recesses 15- to the outer'face of the-bosses-pit-being noted that the bottoms of the recesses. l learepositioned in-- horizontal planes above+ the lowermost portions' of-the=curved-bottoms-i 6-of the recesses I5.

A- plurality of blades l8, commonly called wings in this' art, are carried upon the follower block I 2. Each ofthe rwings 'is provided with -a transverse,cylindrical: hub I 9% on: itslower end, the curvature of said hubs beingsubstantially equal to the curvature of the arcuate e or "cylindric'al bottoms- 1 6 of the recesses l5:- Thenverall length of each ofthehu-bs is -slightl-y less than the length of the-"recesses l5-whereby the --h'ubs may be inserted into said-recessesand -have a sliding fit uponthe'arcua-te bottoms thereof. The Wings-are curved *longitudi-nallwirr*aeplain perpendicular" to -theaxes -of-the hubs-4 9 andcarry integral reinforcing ribs '20'upontheir-outer faces. Theribs-20 extend longitudinally "of the wings and substantially throughout the entire length thereof, and -serve to increase-therigidity and 'shape--ofan irregular-hexagon; the sides of the hexagon beingalternately longand short 'whereby three long sides 23 of equal -leng-th;-'--a-nd-"-three short "sides-'24; also of equal length-, are provided by said' sprea'der orexpandenblocic A-marginal flange orsRirt-"ZS depends-downwardly'and-=outw'ardly at an angle 'fronr the perimeter of r the spreaderblock; the-skirt necessarily havin'g the samegeneralbutline; or-beingsimilar in-'-shape, tothe spreader block:: The skirt -is-;thus made uin of three relatively=-long:=-side ":walis 26 corresponding to the long edges or faces 23, and three relatively short side walls 21 corresponding to the edges 24 of the. spreader block. All of the side walls 26 and 2'! extend downwardly and outwardly from the central portion of the spreader block, it being understood that the entire structure described, including the spreader block and the walls 26 and 21, is formed in One piece by a casting or any other suitable procedure.

An enlarged central opening 28 is provided in the center of the block 22 and receives the screwthreaded portion of the rod I0. Since the opening 28 is somewhat greater in diameter than the rod I ll, it permits the spreader structure described to slide freely upon said rod, but at the same time, is not sufficiently large as to permit the spreader block to move upwardly past the retaining nut 2| which bears upon or jacks against the upper surface of said block.

Each of the long side walls 26 of the depending skirt of the spreader block is provided with an elongate slot or opening 29 cut therethrough and extending longitudinally with respect to said side walls. Asillustrated in Fig. 4, the shape of the openings 29 is similar to the shape of the side walls 26. The rounded upper ends 39 of the wings I8 are received within the slots or openings 29, and it is pointed out that said slots are of sulficient length as to accommodate the widest portions of the wings I8 which are relatively wide and thin in structure. The openings 29 extend not quite'perpendicular to the faces of the side walls '26 and are of a Width sufficient only to accommodate the thickness of the wings I8 and the reinforcing ribs 20 as the lengths of said wings move longitudinally through the opening 29.

In assembling this earth anchor, the spreader block is positioned upon the upper portion of the rod I9 immediately beneath the retaining nut 2I and the upper extremities 39 of the wings I8 are engaged within the openings 29. The cylindrical hubs I9 provided upon the lower ends of the wings are placed within the recesses I5, and suitable retaining pins 3I are passed through axial openings 32 provided in,the hubs I9, and also through alined openings 33 formed in the bosses I4. With the base or follower block I2 screwed upon the lower end of the rod ID, the wings are securely held against movement in any direction by reason of the pins 3| and the engagement of the upper ends of the wings within the openings 29. The anchor may now be handled in almost any fashion and may be inserted into and remove from openings in the earth without danger of one of the wings becoming accidentally displaced or dislodged and entangled with the wall of said earth opening. This is highly desirable since it enables the anchor to withstand the rough treatment and handling which devices of this nature customarily receive, and also makes provision for the haphazard and improper methods often employed by workmen in positioning the anchors within the holes in the earth in which the anchor is to be employed. Short of deliberate destruction, it is virtually impossible to displace one of the wings I8 while the device is in its retracted position as illustrated in Fig. 2.

After the hole has been drilled in the earth in which it is desired to position this anchor, the anchor is inserted thereinto in its retracted position and brought to the point at which it is desired to be set. Then, rotation of the rod II! by engaging said rod or its eye II with any suitable tool (not shown) results in movement of the follower block I2 upwardly toward the spreader block 22. During this operation, the two blocks and the wings are held against rotation by the engagement of the outer edges of the block 22 with the walls of the earth opening, or the engagement of the underside of the block I2 with the bottom of the hole, or both. As the rotation of the rod I0 is continued, the block I2 continues to move upwardly thus bearing against the hubs I9 upon the lower ends of the wings I8 and forcing said wings upwardly with respect to the rod I9 and the spreader block 22. The upward movement of the spreader block is prevented by means of the stop nut 2 I, but said nut and the operating rod are free to rotate with respect to the spreader block by reason of the enlarged opening 28 and the friction bearing of the stop nut upon the upper surface of said spreader block. In the course of their upward movement, the wings I8 follow an arcuate path representing a continuation of their own longitudinal curvature, and feed outwardly through the openings 29 into the side walls of the earth holes in which the device is positioned. This operation is continued until the anchoring device is in its fully expanded position as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 2 and in full lines in Fig. 3. In this position, the hubs I9 are tightly clamped between the arcuate bottoms I6 of the recesses I5 and the underside of a depending, central disk-like element or boss 34 formed integrally on the underside of the spreader block or head 22. In the course of the upward and outward movement of the wings I8, their hubs I9 revolve within the arcuate bottoms I6, so that in the fully expanded position of the anchor, it is one side of each of the hubs I9 which engages the underside of the element 34. The inner ends of the wings are thus securely anchored and clamped against upward or downward movement, and the walls of the openings 29 function as fulcrums to enable the wings to resist upward or downward movement or swinging about the pins 3|; During this setting operation, there is no shearing load upon the pins 3| since this force is borne by the hubs I9 and recess bottoms I6.

It is to be noted that the movement of all portions of the wings I8 is controlled at all times, both by the securing of the lower ends of the wings to the base or bottom block I2 and the engagement of said wings within the openings 29. With this structure, accidental displacement of the wings at any time is precluded and the operator has full and absolute control of the handling and positioning of said wings. It is also to be noted that the movement of the wings in an arcuate path, representing a continuation of their own longitudinal curvature, into the earth defining the side wall of the opening in which the anchor is positioned, results in projection of the Wings into said earth without undue distrubance thereof and with a minimum of displacement or gouging of said earth. By this means, the setting or expanding of the anchoring device is greatly facilitated with a minimum of effort being necessary to project the wings into their earth engaging position. At the same time, because of the lack of disturbance of the earth; a much more solid and substantial engaging-media for the wings is provided.

In some instances, a Workman may fail to expand the anchor completely so that the blades do not have full engagement with the earth. However, the structure of the anchor provides for this contingency in that an upward pull upon the anchor rod, as by securing a guy wire thereto,

will pull the base block 12 upwardly and complete the setting of the anchor.

It is to be noted that the anchor rod may have screw-threaded engagement with either the upper or the lower blocks since all that is necessary is the urging together of the blocks as the anchor is set. Also, the blades may be pivoted to either of the blocks and be expanded by the other. Of course, the embodiment of the invention described is the preferred form because the blades are pressed into the wall of the earth opening without disturbing the surrounding dirt, but this same desirable result may be obtained by inverting the anchor structure.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof and various changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An earth anchor including, a base block, a spreader block above the base block, a screwthreaded anchor rod extending through the blocks, one of the blocks having a screw-threaded bore receiving said rod, a plurality of anchor wings, each wing having a substantially cylindrical hub on one end, the axes of the hubs extending across the wings parallel to the transverse axes of the wings and at right angles to the longitudinal axes of the wings, the base block having recesses of arcuate cross-section receiving the hubs, the recesses having semi-cylindrical bottoms of substantially the same radius of curvature as the hubs and in contact with the peripheries thereof, whereby the hubs may revolve in said recesses and are fully supported thereby in all positions, the axes of the recesses being spaced inwardly from the perimeter of the base block, said hubs projecting above the base plate, and a centrally located extension on the underside of the spreader block positioned inwardly of the periphery thereof abutting the hubs when the anchor is expanded to hold the hubs in their recesses and to withstand forces tending to move the hubs upwardly.

2. An earth anchor including, a base block, a spreader block, a screw-threaded anchor rod extending through the base block and the spreader block and having screw-threaded engagement in one of said blocks, means on the rod engaging the other of said blocks to prevent shifting of the latter block upon the rod away from the opposite block, a plurality of anchor wings having relatively wide and thin blades and a substantially cylindrical hub upon one end, the axes of the hubs extending across the wings parallel to the transverse axes of the wings and at right angles to the -longitudinal axes of the wings, the base block having recesses of arcuate cross-section receiving the hubs, the recesses having semi-cylindrical bottoms of substantially the same radius of curvature as the hubs and in contact with the peripheries thereof, whereby the hubs may revolve in said recesses and are fully supported thereby in all positions, the axes of the recesses being spaced inwardly from the perimeter of the base block, and a marginal flange upon the spreader block extending toward the base block, said flange having transverse openings within which the free ends of the blades engage, said hubs projecting above the base block, said base block being smaller than the spreader block so as to be received within the marginal flange, the underside of the spreader block having an extension positioned centrally and inwardly of the periphery thereof abutting the upper sides of the hubs when the anchor is expanded.

3. An earth anchor as set forth in claim 2, wherein the openings are only slightly longer and wider than the width and thickness of the blades so that the openings function as guides for the blades, and an extension on the spreader block for engaging the hubs of the wings and holding them within the recesses when the anchor is expanded.

HARLEY R. OGBURN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 791,373 Shaifer May 30, 1905 930,486 Lewis Aug. 10, 1909 1,606,147 Cole et al. Nov. 9, 1926 2,217,271 Handel Oct. 8, 1940 

